# Remodeling Cost Guide: Northern Virginia > What remodeling costs in Northern Virginia and what actually moves the number — kitchen, bathroom, basement, whole-home and addition cost drivers from a design-build firm. - **Source:** https://berrizdesign.com/resources/remodeling-cost-guide/ - **Company:** Berriz Design Build, LLC — Design-build home remodeling and landscape design contractor, founded 1994 - **Contact:** (703) 552-7565 · bob@berrizdesign.com - **Based in:** Arlington, VA - **Service:** Remodeling cost guidance - **Jurisdiction:** Arlington is Arlington County; McLean, Vienna, Oakton and Great Falls are Fairfax County; Alexandria is an independent city - **Service area:** Arlington, VA, McLean, VA, Vienna, VA, Great Falls, VA, Oakton, VA, Alexandria, VA, Clifton, VA, Fairfax Station, VA ## Questions and answers **Why will nobody give me a price over the phone?** Because the honest answer depends on the house. Two kitchens of the same size, a mile apart, can differ substantially once you know whether the wall is load bearing and where the stack runs. A number given before anyone has seen those things is a guess that gets corrected later, usually upward. A range, not a quote. What a project actually costs comes out of the consultation. **What does a design-build figure include that a contractor's bid might not?** Design, drawings, engineering where it is needed, the permit process, project management and the construction itself, under one contract. A low bid that covers construction only is not a cheaper project — it is the same project with the design and coordination still ahead of you. **What is usually excluded?** Appliances and furnishings you select directly, anything structural we find after demolition that could not reasonably be seen beforehand, and work outside the agreed scope. We name exclusions in writing rather than leaving them to be discovered. **How is the investment staged?** Design and permitting first, as their own stage with their own fee, so you can stop at the end of it if the numbers are not what you hoped. Construction is then drawn down against progress rather than paid up front. **Does a published range help or hurt me as a homeowner?** It helps, as long as it is honest about being a range. It tells you whether to keep reading or to adjust the scope, and it saves both sides a meeting that was never going to go anywhere. ## Page content ★ Since 1994 · Northern Virginia # What remodeling costs in Northern Virginia — and what actually moves the number A plain guide to how design-build pricing works, written so you can tell the difference between a range and a quote. Start a Project Call (703) 552-7565 Based on what you told us ## Where most conversations like yours start This is a starting point, not a quote or a recommendation about your home. Everything here is the same Berriz process — reordered to lead with what people in your position usually ask about first. ## How remodeling is priced, in one page Every remodeling number is built from the same four things: how much has to move, what is behind the walls, the finish level you choose, and how long the house is disrupted. A firm that knows those four can give you a range in a first conversation. Nobody can give you a price before seeing the house, and anyone who does is quoting a different house. Berriz works design-build, which means the design, the permit process and the construction sit in one contract with one accountable team. That changes what a figure includes, so the comparison to a construction-only bid is not like for like. - A range tells you whether to keep going. It is wide on purpose. - A quote comes after someone has seen the house and the scope is written down. - A design-build figure includes drawings, permitting and management, not just build cost. A range, not a quote. What a project actually costs comes out of the consultation. By project type ## What drives the number, service by service The drivers below are the ones that actually change a budget. Everything else is noise until these are settled. ### Kitchen remodeling What moves the number - Whether the layout moves. Keeping sink, range and refrigerator roughly where they are is a different job from relocating them, because the plumbing, gas and electrical follow the layout. - Cabinetry tier. This is usually the single largest line, and the spread between stock, semi-custom and custom is wider than most other choices on the project. - Appliance package, which is your decision rather than ours and can move the total on its own. - Structure. Taking a wall out is cheap. Taking a wall out that is holding the second floor up is a beam, a header, and an inspection. Published ranges for kitchen are being finalised with our estimating team and will appear here. A range, not a quote. What a project actually costs comes out of the consultation. Kitchen remodeling → ### Bathroom remodeling What moves the number - Whether the fixtures move. A bath that keeps its footprint avoids most of the plumbing work. - Shower construction. A curbless entry, a bench and a linear drain are a different build from a standard pan. - Tile. Size, material and pattern change labour hours as much as material cost. - What is behind the wall. Older houses tend to reveal something once the tile is off. Published ranges for bathroom are being finalised with our estimating team and will appear here. A range, not a quote. What a project actually costs comes out of the consultation. Bathroom remodeling → ### Basement and lower level What moves the number - Egress. If the plan adds a bedroom, code requires a compliant exit, and cutting a window well into a foundation is a real line item. - Ceiling height, and what the mechanical runs are doing to it. - Moisture. This gets solved before anything is framed, or it gets solved twice. - Whether a bathroom is going in, which brings drainage below the slab into the conversation. Published ranges for basement are being finalised with our estimating team and will appear here. A range, not a quote. What a project actually costs comes out of the consultation. Basement and lower level → ### Whole-home renovation What moves the number - How much of the structure moves. - Whether systems are replaced or extended. - Finish level, applied across the whole house rather than one room. - Occupancy. Staying in the house during the work changes the sequence, the dust control and the duration. Published ranges for whole-home renovation are being finalised with our estimating team and will appear here. A range, not a quote. What a project actually costs comes out of the consultation. Whole-home renovation → ### Home addition What moves the number - Foundation type and what the site will take. - Roof geometry, and how the new roof meets the old one. - Whether the addition needs its own HVAC zone or can be carried by the existing system. - Zoning: setbacks and lot coverage decide what is buildable before design starts. Published ranges for home addition are being finalised with our estimating team and will appear here. A range, not a quote. What a project actually costs comes out of the consultation. Home addition → How design-build is supposed to work ## The standard we build to Price is downstream of process. The industry publishes a standard for how design-build should be procured, contracted and executed, and most cost surprises trace back to one of the three being skipped. “Decades of experience across all sectors and project types have given our industry a time-tested roadmap to success. Design-Build Done Right® Best Practices help you engineer higher quality outcomes by showing you what works – and what doesn’t.” Design-Build Institute of America source DBIA publishes ten universal best practices and close to fifty supporting techniques, grouped into three areas: procuring design-build services, contracting for them, and executing the project source . Most of that literature is written for public infrastructure. The principles underneath it are the same ones that decide whether a kitchen or a whole-house renovation runs well, so here is what each area looks like on a residential project. Procuring ### Choose the team on qualifications, not the lowest drawing fee The cheapest set of drawings is the most expensive way to start. You are buying judgement about what the house will allow — what is load bearing, where the stack runs, what the county will approve — and that judgement either shows up in the first week or it shows up as a change order in the twelfth. Contracting ### One contract, one accountable party Design-build exists so there is nobody to point at. When the drawing and the build sit with the same firm, a conflict between them is our problem to solve before it reaches you, rather than a dispute you are asked to referee between an architect and a contractor. Executing ### Agree the sequence before anything is demolished Which room comes out of service, in what order, and for how long. On an occupied house that is not a scheduling detail — it is most of what the months actually feel like, and it is settled on paper first. Berriz has run design and construction under one roof since 1994, which is the arrangement these practices describe. Common questions ## Cost questions, answered straight Why will nobody give me a price over the phone? Because the honest answer depends on the house. Two kitchens of the same size, a mile apart, can differ substantially once you know whether the wall is load bearing and where the stack runs. A number given before anyone has seen those things is a guess that gets corrected later, usually upward. A range, not a quote. What a project actually costs comes out of the consultation. What does a design-build figure include that a contractor's bid might not? Design, drawings, engineering where it is needed, the permit process, project management and the construction itself, under one contract. A low bid that covers construction only is not a cheaper project — it is the same project with the design and coordination still ahead of you. What is usually excluded? Appliances and furnishings you select directly, anything structural we find after demolition that could not reasonably be seen beforehand, and work outside the agreed scope. We name exclusions in writing rather than leaving them to be discovered. How is the investment staged? Design and permitting first, as their own stage with their own fee, so you can stop at the end of it if the numbers are not what you hoped. Construction is then drawn down against progress rather than paid up front. Does a published range help or hurt me as a homeowner? It helps, as long as it is honest about being a range. It tells you whether to keep reading or to adjust the scope, and it saves both sides a meeting that was never going to go anywhere. ## Where to go next - Kitchen remodeling - Basement remodeling - Arlington remodeling - McLean whole-home renovation - Project gallery Berriz Resources ## Everything else you might want The process in detail, a real pricing estimator, and every Berriz channel — so you can do your homework before you ever speak to us. Process ### The Berriz Way The process, start to finish — how a Berriz project actually runs. Open ↗ Estimate ### Pricing Guide Interactive estimator. Get a realistic range before you call anyone. Open ↗ Links ### Connect With Us Every Berriz channel in one place — socials, reviews, booking. Open ↗ Portfolio ### Project Gallery Completed work across Arlington and Northern Virginia. View → Start the Conversation ## Tell us about the project Every Berriz engagement opens the same way: a conversation about how you actually use the space, what has to change, and what the realistic range looks like. No pressure, no obligation. 1994 Building in Northern Virginia since 1 Team, design through build Call (703) 552-7565 Chat With Us Now ### Request a consultation We reply within one business day. First name * Last name * Email * Phone * US mobile or landline, 10 digits Project location Select a city Arlington McLean Vienna Great Falls Oakton Alexandria Clifton Fairfax Station Other / Northern Virginia Timeline Select Ready now 1–3 months 3–6 months 6–12 months Still exploring Investment range Select Under $75k $75k – $150k $150k – $300k $300k – $500k $500k+ Not sure yet What are you hoping to do? Text me about my project. 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